Scotland is a beautiful green part of Great Britain. It offers lots of interesting places, a huge number of castles and wonderful (if not very high) mountains. We went there at the end of September 2017. The idea was a trip based on hitchhiking and nights in a tent.
We flew from Warsaw Modlin to Glasgow (about €40 per person return). We landed very late, though (around 10:30 pm), so, as planned, we pitched our tent near the airport (watch the video above from the beginning). The next day we first took a city bus to the centre of Glasgow (expensive tickets at £7.50), and then a MegaBus to Edinburgh. We had bought the tickets well in advance, so it came out really cheap (£5 each, if I remember correctly). Click here to read on.
Table of contents
Edinburgh
We got off the bus in the centre, on Princes St, so the first sights were just a stone’s throw away.
Princes Street Gardens
- Just behind the fence, on both sides of the railway tracks, is the Princes Street Gardens park (watch the video above from 1:07), with a great view of the castle. Fun fact – right by the entrance there is a statue of Wojtek the bear, who served in the Polish army during the Second World War. He was given the rank of corporal. After the war the bear was handed over to Edinburgh Zoo, where he died in 1963. Unfortunately we didn’t know beforehand that we were only a dozen or so metres from the statue. We also walked past a church – The Parish Church of St Cuthbert, with old gravestones so typical of the British Isles (watch the video above from 1:45).
Edinburgh Castle
- Edinburgh Castle is one of the mightiest and oldest fortresses in Great Britain (watch from 2:00 (in Polish)). It is also a symbol of the whole of Scotland. The castle stands right in the city centre, on a hill 120 metres above sea level. Its construction began in the 12th century. From the viewing terrace we admired our next stop – Arthur’s Seat.
On the way to Arthur's Seat
- On the way we passed St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, the impressive Walter Scott monument and the Old Royal High School (watch from 2:45). Unfortunately, with only one day in Edinburgh, we didn’t manage to see all the most important places – for example Calton Hill, home to the National Monument of Scotland, which looks like a Greek acropolis. We only walked past not far from it without realising (near the Old Royal High School). Going down Jacob’s Ladder, we reached the Scottish Parliament and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where we started our walk up Arthur’s Seat .
Arthur's Seat
- Arthur’s Seat is the distinctive summit of the hill towering over the city (watch from 3:24). It rises to 251 m above sea level. From the top you can admire a panorama of the city and the Firth of Forth. The way to the summit from St Margaret’s Well is just 1.5 km, with an elevation gain of about 220 metres.
Greyfriars Kirkyard
- Greyfriars Kirkyard – A place famous for unexplained phenomena, which occur even during the day (watch from 4:54). It’s said, among other things, that some people in the graveyard get attacked by an invisible force. We didn’t experience anything like that, though.
Fun fact: some of the names on the gravestones inspired J.K. Rowling to use them in the Harry Potter novels.
Our Edinburgh sightseeing route
Stirling
We got to Stirling by Megabus. Booked more than a week in advance, the ticket cost us £5. Below are the sights we visited (watch the video above from the beginning (in Polish)).
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle – The first records of it date from the 12th century. It guarded a river crossing on the route linking the north and south of the country. It was also the place where many Scottish kings were crowned and lived, as well as a scene of battles with the English. Apart from the castle, it’s worth visiting the old part of town nearby. Watch from 1:31.
Stirling Old Town
The old town has many historic sights, such as the Church of the Holy Rude (a 15th-century church), the Old Town Cemetery and the Star Pyramid (a pyramid by the cemetery). There is also the 19th-century old town jail (The Old Town Jail) and a 17th-century almshouse (Cowane’s Hospital). Watch from 0:48.
Wallace Monument
Wallace Monument: – A memorial to Scotland’s national hero, William Wallace. It is 67 metres tall. That’s also where we pitched our tent, and in the morning we got to watch a historical re-enactment (watch from 1:57).
Our Stirling sightseeing route
Loch Ness
On the fourth day we started hitchhiking from Stirling to Perth (watch from 3:30, second video). It was the first larger town in the direction of Loch Ness. Then, hitchhiking via Aviemore, Forres and Inverness, we reached our destination (watch the third video from the beginning), where apart from the distinctive Highland cows (watch from 2:24 (in Polish)) and the lake, we saw Urquhart Castle (watch from 2:59). It was built in the mid-13th century. The fortress’s main task was to control the strategic route through the valley between Inverness and Fort William. In 1692, during one of the Scottish risings, the fortress was blown up to stop the Jacobites from taking it.
Glenfinnan
On the fifth day, despite the fairly long way (from Urquhart Castle – watch the third video from 3:42), we managed to hitch a ride straight to our next destination. It was the Glenfinnan Viaduct, which appeared in the Harry Potter films. You can climb to several viewpoints there and walk a trail. The whole route from the Visitor Centre to the historic railway station is about 2.5 km long (see the map below & watch the fourth video from the beginning).
Our Glenfinnan sightseeing route
The way to Glasgow
Hitchhiking to Glasgow, we got to travel a long way with the lovely Donald (watch from 1:20). He was heading to Edinburgh Airport and picking up a friend on the way. While waiting for the other passenger, who still had a few things to sort out, Donald decided to take us to a café and show us a museum. After setting off and picking up his friend, we were invited to a food bar where we stopped on the way. We could take whatever we wanted. Out of politeness, though, we modestly chose coffee. This is without doubt the ride we remember most fondly. In the town where we were dropped off, we quickly got another lift (watch from 2:28). That was also the first time we found out how much the Scottish accent makes the language hard to understand. It was difficult to communicate with the driver. But he was so kind that he drove us almost to the door of the building where we had booked our accommodation.
Sightseeing in Glasgow:
Watch from 2:53. We got to see Glasgow on our last day in Scotland. Because time was short (we went sightseeing before our flight back to Poland), we only saw places such as:
- The Glasgow Rangers stadium – The football stadium of Rangers F.C. It is the third-largest stadium of its kind in Scotland (watch from 3:10).
- Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum – It holds collections of crafts, arms and armour, and paintings. The building itself was designed in the Spanish Baroque style in traditional red brick. Inside you can admire a Victorian-style interior. Entry is free (watch from 3:30).
- Glasgow Science Centre – An interactive science and technology centre.
- The Clydeside Distillery – A whisky distillery.
- The University of Glasgow – One of Britain’s leading universities, founded in 1451. Today it is one of the best universities in the United Kingdom. Inside you can admire a beautiful Victorian-style complex (watch from 3:54).
Our Glasgow sightseeing route
Practical information
- Hitchhiking works really well! We never waited longer than half an hour. Once we even got a lift within two minutes.
- Pitching a tent is no problem! The first time, we camped right next to Glasgow Airport. Scotland has lots of green space, and outside the bigger cities finding a spot is no problem at all.
- Most of the people we met spoke clearly, without a heavy accent.
- Bring a plug adapter for type D, G or M (UK) sockets.
- An example of accommodation costs – for 1 night in Glasgow on Kent Rd (Finnieston district) we paid £44.
Summary
In total we travelled about 800 km in Scotland, more than 600 km of it by hitchhiking. We also spent 7 nights (5 in the tent, 1 as guests and 1 paid).
